Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) biologists are trying to determine what's causing a troubling rise in melanosis among adult smallmouth bass on the west branch of the Susquehanna River.
According to an article published in Sunday's edition of the Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.), an intensive study and sample collection was done by the PFBC in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survery and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year. The data will be examined over the winter.
The concern among researchers and anglers is whether melanosis represents an outbreak of cancerous melanoma in the bass population in the river.
“We just submitted some more fish for analysis last week to continue to document the condition and keep an eye on the pathology to see if anything is changing,” said Geoffrey Smith, a biologist with the PFBC.
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